Controlling combustion in a plurality of furnaces



F. H. BROWN.

CONTROLLING COMBUSTION IN A PLURALITY OF FURNACES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I2, 1920.

1,338,902. Patented May 4, 1920.

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FRANCIS ll-I. BROWN, 0]? PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 JOHN M. HOPWOOD, 0F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

GQNTRULLING COMBUSTION IN A PLURALITY 0F FURNACES.

eas es,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 4, 192.0.

ttubstitute for application Serial No. 195,625, filed October 9, 1917. This application filed. February 12,

Q 1920. eriai No. 358,109.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, FRANCIS H. Brown, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, a citizen of the United States, have invented or discovered certain new and useful limprovements in Controlling Combustion in a Plurality of Furnaces, of which improvements the following is specification.

The invention described herein relates to the regulation of the operations involved in the generation of steam, z, 6., the feed of fuel, the supply of air for supporting combustion and the escape of products of combustion from the furnace by and in accordance with the How of steam along a conduit connected to a plurality of boiler units and to the regulation of the flow of water to each unit by andin accordance with the flow of steam from such unit. 'llhe invention especially relates to the maintenance of a predetermined pressure in the several fire boxes, irrespective of rates of combustion therein. The invention is hereinafter more fully described and claimed.-

.lln the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, is shown a diagrammatic view of a plurality of boilers in their settings, the several units being connected to a common header and having combined therewith mechanisms for feeding fuel, controlling the rate of flow of air under pressure to the fire boxes and the dischargeof products of combustion from the several fire boxes, and the feed of water to the boilers, and devices controlling the operations of the several mechanisms.

lin the practice of the invention, the boil ers 1, 1*, etc, forming the battery, are connected by pipes 2 to acommon header or conduit 3 and the several fire boxes 4:, 4?, etc., are connected by pipes 5 to a smoke conduit 6. lln order to utilize the difference between the static pressure in the steam pipe 3 and such pressure plus or minus the pressure due to the velocity of flow of steam along such pipe to actuate controlling devices, as hereinafter described, any device known in the art as suitable for the purpose 1s arranged within such pipe, as for example, in the construction shown, a portion of the pipe 3 is contracted internally, as by the 1nterposition of a disk 7 having an openlng therethrough less than the internal diameter of the pipe and to such pipe on opposite sides of the disk are connected one end of pipes 8 and 9 which have their opposite ends connected to the shell of a diaphragm motor 10 at points on opposite sides of the diaphragm contained within the shell, so that any variations of pressure arising from changes in the rate of How of steam through the tube 3, the diaphragm will be correspondingly shifted. As shown in the application filed February 12, 1920, Serial N umber 358,107, the diaphragm of this motor is connected to a lever 11 which in turn is connected by a turn buckle to a pivotally mounted frame 12 on which is pivotally mounted a bell crank lever 13. One arm of this lever 13 is connected to the rod 141 of a -ments of the piston may be incremental and not total on the shifting of the valve mechanism 15. A suitable construction to this end consists in connecting the bell crank lever 13 by a rod 19 to a pivotally mounted standard 20, on which is secured a shoe for the reception of an angularly arranged rod or bar 21 adapted to move back and forth in the shoe. This rod is carried by a frame 22 connected by an arm 23 to the piston rod 24 of the cylinder 18. W hen the piston of the cylinder 18 is shifted, the frame 22 will be raised or lowered carrying with it the inclined rod or bar 21, which moving through the shoe will shift the pivotally mounted standard 20, thereby moving the bellcrank lever 13 in a direction opposite to that imparted by the rocking of the frame 12 as hereinbefore described, and thereby cutting off the flow of fluid pressure to the cylinder 18 and checking the movement of the piston therein.

The piston rods 24 of the cylinders 18 are connected by any suitable means to mechanism whereby the flow of air under pressure to the fire boxes is regulated. In the con- D its struction shown, a uniform rate of flow of air into the conduits 26 is maintained and the piston rods 24 are connected to dampers "25 in the conduits 26, through which air to permit of an increased flow of air under pressure to the fire boxes, or else to reduce such flow dependent upon the direction of movement of the piston of cylinder 18, and

this direction of movement will be dependent upon an increase of the rate of flow of steam through the steam conduit 3, as hereinbefore described.

By the shifting of the dampers 25, pressure is increased or decreased in the furnace or fire boxes 4, 4, etc., and as it is an object of this invention to maintain a practically uniform pressure within these fire boxes, provision is made whereby on a change of pressure in the fire boxes, the dampers 29 in the conduits 5 may be shifted to restore the pressure in the fire boxes to the predetermined pressure. In the construction shown, the shifting of the dampers 29 is effected by and in accordance with changes of pressure in the fire boxes and to this end pressure actuated devices A are connected by pipes 30 with the interior of each of the fire boxes. It is preferred to employ the form of pressure actuated device shown and described in Letters Patent No. 1,247,215, dated November 20, 1917. As shown and described in said patent, a change of pressure in the furnaces, operating through suitable mechanisms, will direct a flow of fluid pressure to one or the other end of fluid pressure cylinders 31, and thereby cause an up or down movement to the piston rods 32. These piston rods are connected in any suitable manner, as for example, by a cord 33 with the drums 34 on the shafts of the dampers 29, the connection being such that when the pressure in the fire boxes changes, the dampers 29 in the pipes 5 of the fire boxes will be correspondingly opened so as to maintain the predetermined pressure within the fire boxes. It being desired to automatically control the feed of fuel by and in accordance with a flow of steam through the conduits 3, such control is effected in the present case through the medium of the pressure actuated devices A, and'to that end the piston rod 32 of the fiuidpressure cylinder 31 is connected by a lever 35 to the stem 36 of the valve mechanism 37; by the shifting of this valve mechanism, the flow of steam from the boilers to the motor of the stoking mechanism 38 is controlled.

It has been found in practice that the flow of steam from each of the units of the battery will not be equal, but the flow from one will be greater than the flow from another and hence it is preferred to regulate sure in such pipes and such pressure plus or minus that due to the velocity of flow of steam through the pipes may beemployed for regulating the feed of water to the boilers, the pipes 8 and 9 which are .connected to outlet pipes 2, 2*, etc., on the opposite sides of the contracted portions of such pipes, as indicated at 39, are connected to the diaphragm motor 40, as is described in connection with the mechanism controlling the dampers in the fluid pressure conduits 26. This diaphragm motor controls, as hereinbefore described, the flow of fluid pressure to and from the fluid pressure cylinder 41, which has its piston rod 42 connected by a cord 43 or other suitable means to the valve stems 44 of the valve mechanisms 45 controlling the flow of the feed of water from the pipes 46 to the respective boilers.

This application is filed in place :of an application Serial No. 195625, filed October 9th, 1917, but which became abandoned February 28, 1919.

I claim herein as my invention:

1. The method of regulating the furnaces of a plurality of boilers which consists in controlling the pressure of gases in the several furnaces by and in accordance with the rate of flow of steam from all the boilers.

2. The method herein described which consists in regulating the flow of air under pressure to the furnaces of a plurality of boilers by and in accordance with the flow of steam from all the boilers and controlling the flow of gases from each of the furnaces by and in accordance with the pressure of gases in the respective furnaces.

3. The method herein described which.

consists in regulating the flow of air under pressure to the furnaces of a plurality of boilers by and in accordance with the rate of flow of steam from all the boilers and regulating the rate of feed of fuel to each of the furnaces byand in accordance with the pressure of gases in the respective furnaces.

4. The method herein described which consists in regulating the flow of air under pressure to the furnaces of a plurality of boilers by and in accordance with the rate of flow of steam from all the boilers and regulating the flow of ases from and the feed of fuel to each. of t e furnaces by and in accordance with the pressure of gases in the respective furnaces.

5. The method herein described Which consists in regulating the fioW of air under pressure to t e furnaces of a plurality of boilers by and in accordance with the rate offlovv of steam from all the boilers, regulating the flow of gases from and the feed of fuel to each of the furnaces by and in accordance with the pressure of gases in the respective furnaces, and regulating the feed of Water to each of the boilers by and in accordance with the rate of flow of steam. from the respective boilers.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

FRANCIS H. BRQWN. 

